Shelf bracket



March ll, 1969 s. FoRscHMlo'r 3,432,134

SHELF BRACKET Filed Jan. 23, 1967 le #s /igll e" -14 ATTORNEY 3,432,134 SHELF BRACKET Samuel Forschmidt, 30 Lotus Lane, Westbury, N.Y. 11590 Filed Jan. 2s, 1967, ser. No. 611,051

U.S. Cl. 248-235 1 Claim Int. Cl. A471:` /00 ABSTRACT 0F THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to structural supports and, in particular, to brackets for removably securing shelves and the like to interior building structures such as walls and columns permanently in place, or to articles of furniture whcih may be moved about at will.

It is known that a slot and key connection is cornmonly employed to provide an easily removed attachment between two members. Such connections can have serious drawbacks. When the members are made, for example, of wood or some other relatively soft material, the stress placed on the undercut surface of the key slot is sufficiently high as to cause the key to cut through the undercut surface until failure develops. It is the desideratum of the present invention to provide a special bracket which assures considerably longer life to a connection of this character even though high stress is continually applied to the part being supported.

In general, the bracket which may be made of metal,

is firmly secured to the shelf supporting member along the sides thereof as by screw means. The end of the bracket is spaced from the corresponding end of the support member by means of shoulders which actually abut the end. There is then formed in the spaced end plate of the bracket a pair of key slots adapted to receive key nail heads or the like, respectively, which have been driven into the structure providing the ultimate support for each member. It may be appreciated that the principal stress placed on the member will be taken up by the shoulders and screws which permanently and laterally secure the bracket to the member. The stress on the bracket exerted by the key nails is thus in part relieved being confined to the region of the slots which are formed of material better able to withdstand stress than the support member which may be fabricated, for example, of wood.

A more complete understanding the invention may be obtained by reading the following description of one embodiment thereof which is taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective View of a shelf supported by brackets which constitute one embodiment of the invention;

3,432,134 Patented Mar. l1, 1969 ICC FIG. 2 is an enlarged section taken on line 2 2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a section taken on line 4 4 of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings, shelf support members 10 adapted to support shelf 12 are removably secured to Wall 14. The members 10 have attached to their rear portions metallic brackets 16 which are generally U shaped units there being formed in each bracket a pair of key slots 18 in their rear walls 20.

Adjacent the rear Walls of the brackets are opposed shoulders 22 against which the rear edge of the members 10 abut when the members are fully inserted within the bracket. The shoulders provide an automatic spacing to receive the heads of key nails 24 driven into the wall 14 or other support for the shelf. With the member 10 fully inserted, lateral screws 28 are used to permanently secure the bracket to the shelf support member.V

When the members 10 are suspended from the key nails 24 it may be seen that their rear edges` are abutting the shoulders 22 which serve together with the lateral screw connection between the brackets 16 and. the members 10 to take up a considerable part of the stress placed atop the shelf 12. In addition, bracket slots are located in the area to which the weight of the shelf is directly communicated by the key nails. The strength of the metal brackets in this particular area relative to the wooden support members contributes to the overall durability of the entire combination.

Various modications of the invention may be effected by persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope and principle thereof as dened in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

1. A bracket in combination with a support member, said bracket being of generally U-shaped configuration, the side walls of the bracket comprising the legs of the U and the closed end thereof forming an end wall, the side walls of the bracket being permanently and laterally secured to the side portions of said member, a pair of opposed shoulders interiorly formed in said bracket and spaced from said end wall, the rear edge of said member disposed in said bracket abutting said shoulders, each of said shoulders being formed by an interior and exterior bend in one of said side walls with the external surfaces of said bends being in contacting relation and at least one key slot is provided in said end wall.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,722,529 7/ 1929 MacDonald 248-248 2,321,916 6/1943 Ingerman 248-248 3,125,785 3/1964 Conville 52-238 ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner.. l. FRANKLIN FOSS, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 

